Mini-success

I've always been active all my life, being a swimmer in high school (50+ years ago), a hiker and a triathlete, finishing the Ironman 3 times, the last at age 59. Then in my mid 60's I started having some problems with not being able to sleep, intense night sweating, no energy, etc. After a number of doctor exams, it was finally suggested that I needed to have my digestive system looked at. Turned out I had both kidney stones and a lot of stones in my gall bladder. Well a 45 minute laparoscopic surgery would surely fix that. And then the surgery turned into a 3+ hour ordeal when the doctor said my gall bladder was the worst he'd ever seen. It was solid like a bag of cement, rotting away, and stuck to my liver, which he was lucky to not damage during the bladder removal. I had ballooned up to 220 lbs from my normal 180. I'm now doing much better with a lot more energy. Since January 1st, I've dropped 17 lbs. with a strict diet and intense exercise program. I went on an 8 mile hike this weekend in the snow, and other days I've been doing spin classes and treadmill workouts. As I get close to 69 years of age (in July) I feel better than I have in the last 5 years. Weighed 203 this morning and hoping to reach my goal of 175.